State BJP, high command want Article 35A to go: Raina

State BJP and the national high command of the party both want abrogation of Article 35A as they believe it impedes development of Jammu and Kashmir, BJP state president Ravinder Raina said on Saturday.

He said the party has been demanding its abrogation for the past 70 years.

Addressing reporters, BJP state chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi said some politicians and Kashmir-based parties were communalising the issue of Article 35-A “because wanted the sentiment of separatism to remains alive in the state”.

“This serves their political purpose… therefore they provoke people by telling them ‘you are separate,’ ” Sethi said.

He termed as “anti-national” the insistence of these parties and politicians on saying that Article 35A was in the interest of the people.

He said state subject laws must be changed “as you cannot have two identities in one country”.
While accusing the National Conference (NC) and Congress of ousting Maharaja Hari Singh from the state, Sethi said these parties “distorted state subject laws enacted by the late Maharaja”.

He said that as per state subject laws of Maharaja Hari Singh, outsiders were also entitled to get state subject status after a certain period of time.

“You also observe Martyr’s Day (on 13 July) to project Hari Singh a villain in history and now you are saying that those who oppose Article 35A oppose Hari Singh,” he said.

Sethi said Hari Singh enacted state subject laws at a time when “ours was a princely state just to keep Britishers away from buying property in state”.

Sethi said, “When J&K acceded to India everybody living here became Indian and therefore, there is no point in keeping two identities in one country.”

He said that the West Pakistan Refugees (WPR) have not been given citizenship rights for the past 70 years due to Article 35A.

“They (WPR) are Indians and can live in J&K,” Sethi said adding, “the Rohingyas, Bangladeshis and the people from UP and other states who are running madrassas here should be sent back”.